The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of adhesive patches and more specifically relates to an adhesive patch having antibacterial properties adapted to be secured onto a telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
A telephone colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually in the form of the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other. Developed by Alexander Graham Bell and others, the telephone has long been considered indispensable to businesses, households and governments, is now one of the most common appliances in the developed world.
All telephones have a microphone to speak into, an earphone which reproduces the voice of the other person, and most have a ringer which makes a sound to alert the owner when a call is incoming (being received), and a keypad (or in older phones a telephone dial) to enter/input the telephone number of the telephone to be called. The microphone and earphone are usually built into a handset which is traditionally held up to the face to talk. The keypad may be part of the handset or of a base unit to which the handset would be connected. A landline telephone is connected by a pair of wires to the telephone network, while a mobile phone or cell phone is portable and communicates with the telephone network by radio (wirelessly.) A cordless telephone has a portable handset which communicates by radio with a base station connected by wire to the telephone network, and can only be used within a limited range of the base station.
A recent study of phone receivers determined that a phone receiver has 25 thousand germs per square inch; a shocking statistic. During normal speaking, people expectorate and this bacteria-laden fluid can penetrate the holes in the telephone mouthpiece. Therefore, if a seriously ill person coughs or sneezes while on the telephone, pathogenic bacteria can be deposited on and in the telephone. These germs can live for days, and whether at home, work, or traveling, people are exposed to these germs whenever they pick up the telephone and inhale the bacteria. Whenever a public phone is used, whether it be indoor or outdoor, urban or suburban, idle or immediately following its use, chances are that there will be some exposure to one or more infectious agents. The spread of germs spreads infections; an undesirable result for the public at large. Preventing the spread of germs is the best way to prevent infection and illness at home, at school, and at work. Therefore a need exists for a device designed to provide a user with a simple and effective way to protect him/her from contracting germs while having a phone conversation and provides a simple and effective means to reduce the spread of germs while utilizing a telephone.
Various attempts have been made to solve problems found in telephone sanitation devices art. Among these are found in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,265 to Colella, U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,063 to Josephine N. Lo et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 2009/0060173 to Williams. This prior art is representative of telephone sanitation devices and means.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed. Thus, a need exists for a reliable antibacterial patch adapted to be secured on a telephone to reduce the spread of germs while utilizing a telephone and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.